Martin St. Louis
| birth_place = Laval, Quebec, Canada | career_start = 1997 | draft = Undrafted }} Martin St. Louis (born on June 18, 1975) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger and captain for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). An undrafted player, Martin has played over 1,000 games in an NHL career that began with the Calgary Flames in 1998. He has also played for HC Lausanne of the Swiss National League A. He has been a member of the Lightning since 2000 and was a member of their 2004 Stanley Cup championship team. Martin was a standout player in college for the Vermont Catamounts, earning East Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) all-star honours for three consecutive seasons between 1995 and 1997. He was the ECAC player of the year in 1995. As a professional, Martin has been named to an NHL All-Star Team on five occasions and played in six All-Star Games. He was voted the recipient of the Lester B. Pearson Award and Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player as chosen by the players and league respectively in 2003–04, also winning his first Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer with 94 points. On three occasions, Martin has won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the league's most gentlemanly player. In 2013, at the age of 37, he won his second Art Ross Trophy, becoming the oldest player to ever lead the league in scoring. He has also led the NHL in assists in two different seasons (2003–04 and 2012–13). Internationally, Martin has played with Team Canada on four occasions. He was a member of the team that won the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, and played in the 2006 Winter Olympics. He is a two-time silver medalist at the World Championships and was named a tournament all-star after leading the 2009 event in scoring with 15 points. Playing Career College Career A smaller player than his peers, Martin was listed at five feet nine inches tall in college –1 he often struggled to gain recognition for his ability. He was passed over for a provincial team at a midget age tournament despite leading his league in scoring, while major junior teams showed little interest in him. Martin was heavily recruited by National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) schools to play for their programs, however. He played one season of junior A hockey with the Hawkesbury Hawks of the Central Junior Hockey League (CJHL) in 1992–93 where he scored 37 goals and 87 points in just 31 games. The University of Vermont Catamounts convinced Martin to join their hockey program. He had 51 points in 33 games in his freshman season of 1993–94 and was named to the East Coast Athletic Conference's All-Rookie Team. As a sophomore, Martin was among the top scorers in the NCAA. He had 71 points in 35 games and was named both an ECAC First Team All-Star and NCAA All-American for the first of three consecutive seasons. Additionally, Martin was named the ECAC Player of the Year. Named team captain for his junior season, Martin scored 85 points in 35 games. He tied friend and teammate Éric Perrin for the NCAA scoring lead and the pair, along with goaltender Tim Thomas led the Catamounts to the first ECAC hockey championship in school history. Named an all-star at the 1996 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Martin scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Lake Superior State to reach the Final Four. The Catamounts lost the national semifinal to Colorado College, 4–3 in double overtime. A finalist for the Hobey Baker Award for the first of two consecutive seasons,7 St. Louis earned interest from National Hockey League (NHL) teams in the summer of 1996. Teams offered signing bonuses of up to $150,000 hoping to convince him to leave Vermont and turn professional. Believing he could attract similar offers the following year, Martin chose to complete his final year of college eligibility. Martin's offensive numbers slipped in 1996–97 as he scored 59 points in 36 games. He finished as Vermont's all-time leading scorer with 267 points, a record he continues to hold as of 2012, as well as his school mark of 176 assists. Martin won the J. Edward Donnelly Award as the top male senior athlete at the University of Vermont in 1997 and was named to the ECAC's all-decade team of the 1990s. The University of Vermont inducted him into its athletics Hall of Fame in 2007 and in 2012 he was presented with the school's Alumni Achievement Award. Calgary Flames The NHL offers St. Louis anticipated never materialized as teams lost interest in him. Only the Ottawa Senators offered him a tryout prior to the 1997–98 NHL season. When they released him, St. Louis signed a two-year contract with the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League (IHL) that included a clause allowing him to leave the team if offered an NHL contract. Martin had 50 points in 56 games for Cleveland, catching the attention of the Calgary Flames who signed him to a contract on February 18, 1998. He was assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Saint John Flames, where he scored 26 points in 25 regular season games. Martin then added 20 points in 20 playoff games as Saint John reached the Calder Cup finals, losing in six games to the Philadelphia Phantoms. Martin earned a spot on the Calgary roster to begin the 1998–99 season and made his NHL debut on October 9, 1998, against the San Jose Sharks. He scored his first goal on October 20 against Dallas Stars' goaltender Roman Turek. He began the season playing with Calgary's top forward Theoren Fleury, but was quickly demoted to the fourth line, and often sat out of the lineup. Martin appeared in only 13 games in Calgary, spending the majority of the season in Saint John where he led the AHL squad with 28 goals and 62 points. He began the 1999–2000 season with Saint John, but earned a recall to Calgary after scoring 26 points in 17 games. Martin completed his first full NHL season with three goals and 18 points in 56 games. Pleased with his progress, general manager Al Coates picked up St. Louis' contract option for the 2000–01 season. However, the organization fired Coates and his staff that summer and the new management team was not interested in retaining his services. The Flames exposed Martin to the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft, but after he went unselected, the team bought out his contract and made him an unrestricted free agent. Tampa Bay Lightning 2000–2006 Career A few teams expressed interest in Martin. He chose to sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning as he believed they were the most likely to give him playing time in the NHL. On October 6, 2000, Martin made his debut with the team. He struggled at first, failing to score a goal in the first six weeks of the season and again found himself out of the lineup at times. Realizing that he was at a career crossroads, St. Louis abandoned the changes to his game that his NHL coaches had impressed on him, trusting his own instincts. Martin scored his first goal of the season in late November, and finished the season with 18 goals and 40 points (34 of which came after December 1st). While leading the team with 16 goals midway through the 2001–02 season, he suffered from a broken leg following an awkward check by Josef Melichar of the Pittsburgh Penguins in a late January game. Consequently, he appeared in only 53 of Tampa Bay's 82 games, finishing with 35 points. In 2002-03, Martin had a breakout season, finishing fourth in team scoring with 70 points and tying Vincent Lecavalier for the team lead with 33 goals. He led the team in plus-minus at +10 and appeared in his first NHL All-Star Game. Martin won the puck control relay event and finished second in the fastest skater events of the 2003 All-Star Game's skills competition. On January 30, 2003, Martin scored his first career hat trick in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes. In the postseason, Tampa Bay won its first playoff series in franchise history when it eliminated the Washington Capitals. Three of Martin's seven goals were game-winners, including the overtime goal in the sixth game that won the series. He led the team with 12 points in 11 playoff games. Martin exceeded his previous season in 2003–04, capturing the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer with 94 points. Martin finished fourth overall with 38 goals and his plus-minus of +38 led the league. He scored his 100th career goal on February 17, 2004 against the Philadelphia Flyers. He led the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 15 assists and finished with 24 post-season points in 23 games. Martin led the Lightning to the Stanley Cup Final against Calgary, against whom he scored the overtime winning goal in game six to force a deciding seventh game of the series. The Lightning won the game, 2–1, and secured the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship. Martin won several post-season awards: He was named a First Team All-Star and voted recipient of the Lester B. Pearson Award as the NHL's most valuable player as selected by the players. He also won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player. Martin was only the eighth player in NHL history to win the Art Ross & Hart Trophies and the Stanley Cup in the same season and the first to do so since Wayne Gretzky in 1986–87. While the 2004–05 NHL season was ultimately cancelled by a labour dispute, Martin spent it playing in Europe. He signed a contract with HC Lausanne of Switzerland's National League A. Martin scored 25 points in 23 games. When the NHL resumed in 2005–06, he signed a six-year contract extension with the Lightning worth US$31.5 million. Martin finished with his third 30-goal season, but scored only 61 points on the campaign. 2006-2014 The 2006–07 season was Martin's greatest offensive year as he topped the 100-point plateau for the first time. He finished with career highs in goals, 43, and points, 102. Martin played in his 500th career game on February 9, 2007, against the New York Rangers and after becoming the first Lightning player to appear in three All-Star Games, became the first to score a goal in the mid-season event. He was named to the Second All-Star Team following the season. An injury to Tim Taylor resulted in Martin being named an alternate captain in 2007–08. He made his fourth All-Star Game appearance in 2007–08 amidst an 83-point campaign. Martin scored his 500th career point with a goal against the Buffalo Sabres on March 19, 2008. Leading the Lightning with 30 goals, 50 assists and 80 points in 2008–09, Martin earned his fifth All-Star appearance. He finished fifth in the league with 94 points in 2009–10. He had two 11-game point streaks during the season, the longest in franchise history, and was named to the second All-Star Team. Finishing with only 12 penalty minutes on the season, Martin was voted the recipient of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the league's most gentlemanly player. It was the fifth time he had been named a finalist for the award. Martin won the award for a second time in 2010–11, the culmination of a season in which he made his sixth All-Star Game appearance, was named to the second All-Star Team for the third time and finished second in league scoring with 99 points. He was a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy for the second time, losing out to Corey Perry. The 2011–12 season was the first under a four-year contract extension signed during the previous campaign. Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman praised Martin's importance to the organization when announcing the signing: "Marty means so much to this franchise, both on and off the ice. His hard work and dedication are unsurpassed and we are thrilled that he will finish his career here in Tampa Bay." A durable player, Martin held the NHL's third longest "ironman" streak among active players, having played every game since 2005. The streak came to an end at 499 consecutive games played in early December of 2011 when he was struck in the face by a shot from teammate Dominic Moore during practice. Despite suffering facial and sinus fractures, he missed only five games due to the injury. The 36-year-old Martin finished the season with 74 points in 77 games. In the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season, he led the NHL with 43 assists and his 60 points were enough to capture his second Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer. After the season he was named a Second Team All-Star. With only 14 penalty minutes on the season, Martin also won his third Lady Byng Trophy. The Lightning named him the ninth captain in franchise history prior to the 2013–14 season. He replaced Vincent Lecavalier, who departed Tampa in the off-season. On November 19, 2013, Martin played in his 1,000th NHL game against the Los Angeles Kings. He is the 286th player in league history to reach the milestone, but only the 16th undrafted player to do so since the creation of the universal NHL Entry Draft in 1969. On January 18, 2014, Martin set a career high and tied a Lightning franchise record by scoring four goals in a game against the San Jose Sharks. Two weeks later on January 30, 2014, he earned his 600th career assist came two weeks later in a 5–3 loss to the Ottawa Senators. New York Rangers On March 5, 2014, Martin was traded to the New York Rangers in exchange for Ryan Callahan, a second-round draft pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft and a first-round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. International Play Following his MVP season in the NHL, Martin joined Team Canada for the first time, appearing at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. With a goal and an assist, he led Canada to an opening game, 2–1 victory over the United States. Overall, Martin scored four points in six games as Canada won the World Cup. The majority of that team returned for the 2006 Winter Olympic tournament, and St. Louis played in his first Olympic Games. The team struggled offensively throughout the tournament, finishing in seventh place. Martin scored two goals and added an assist in six games. He has twice played in the World Championships. He first played in the 2008 tournament, held in Canada. He appeared in all nine games for Team Canada, scoring ten points. Canada reached the final, but were forced to settle for the silver medal after a 5–4 overtime loss to Russia. Returning for the 2009 World Championship in Switzerland, Martin led the tournament in scoring with 15 points. Canada met Russia in a rematch of the 2008 final, however Martin and his teammates were again relegated to the silver medal, dropping a 2–1 decision. Martin was named to the tournament's all-star team at forward. He was also selected as a reserve by Team Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympics should an injury occur. Career Statistics International Statistics Awards & Achievements }} Playing Style Listed at five-foot-eight inches tall, Martin is one of the smallest players in the NHL. Hockey Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman credited his desire to succeed as being his primary attribute: "His long suit is his passion. Small players have to have some special attribute that makes them stand out. He's got great acceleration and hockey sense." Martin has also been a durable player throughout his career, missing only seven games between 2002 and 2012. An offensive minded player throughout his amateur and minor professional career, he was forced into a checking-line role by the Calgary Flames. Martin credits the experience for rounding out his game: "I played a true third-line role, killing penalties and playing against the other team's top lines. For me, it was like a five-month crash course on developing my defensive game. My whole life, I had been an offensive player, and suddenly I was in the role of trying to be smart without the puck. I think those fifty-six games helped me develop into a complete player." Category:1975 births Category:Tampa Bay Lightning players Category:Calgary Flames players Category:NHL captains Personal Life Martin is the son of Normand & France and has a sister named Isabelle. He met his wife Heather at the University of Vermont where he graduated in 1997 with a degree in small business management. They have three sons: Ryan, Lucas and Mason. The family maintains an off-season home in Heather's hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut. Martin runs an annual summer hockey camp in the nearby community of Stamford for young players in the region. Category:1975 births Category:Tampa Bay Lightning players Category:Calgary Flames players Category:NHL captains